Bayern beat PSV into submission 2:1

Bayern dominated their way to a 2:1 win away at Eindhoven. The Bavarians came back from a goal down against a very feisty PSV.

First half: furious response

PSV made a surprisingly aggressive start to the match, but Bayern soaked up the pressure well and quickly pushed back through some early chances. Thomas Müller’s volley (3’) went agonisingly wide of the post after some great footwork from Arjen Robben and a pinpoint cross from David Alaba on the left.

Just minutes later, Robert Lewandowski (5’), headed the ball just on to the post before sending the rebound high from a good central position after a clipped pass from Boateng.

There was a fast and furious pace to the game as both teams ran from one end of the pitch looking to score early on. It was the Dutch side who broke the deadlock after a blistering counter that saw Santiago Arias scoring from a clear offside position hitting the rebound following Manuel Neuer’s great reflex save (14’).

Down a goal, Bayern took charge of the pitch and bullied PSV into their own half, but left themselves open to counter-attacks. With PSV tightly packed, there was little space the German juggernauts could exploit and the clear goal chances they got at the beginning of the match dwindled.

The Reds pushed harder and harder as the game progressed. Robben almost scored as his header was barely tipped into a corner by Pasveer (29’). With the ensuing corner Bayern got even closer as Robben’s cross was headed onto the upright by Lewandowski, despite clearly being bothered by the defender.

With the pressure building up in Eindhoven’s box, Guardado gave away a penalty as he handed down the ball from Lahm’s cross. Lewandowski stepped up to the spot and coolly put the ball away as he send the keeper in the opposite direction (34’).

With the score all level again, die Roten continued to push forward in numbers pinning the Dutch champions just outside of their own box. Robben dominated the right side of the field and almost assisted a second goal as his cross was headed awkwardly by Vidal into the turf and the Pasveer’s arms from close range.

The half ended with PSV escaping by the skin of their teeth and Bayern foaming at the mouth at not having taken the lead before the final whistle.

Second half: the inevitable

The game picked up in the second half with Bayern dominating play in search of the second goal and PSV looking dangerous on the counter-attack again. First to get a clear chance on goal was Alaba with a powerful shot from the edge of the box that pushed the keeper back as he managed a last ditch touch to tip the ball over the crossbar (54’).

The match quickly fell into a predictable pattern as Bayern freely passed their way into PSV’s half in search of spaces and chances and the Dutch looking for the decisive counter.

Bayern came close to going one up (62’) as Vidal, all alone in the box, had his shot deflected into the path of Müller who was unable to respond fast enough to get the ball past the sliding defender.

The inevitable came about (73’) as Lewandowski managed to guide the ball from close range across to the far post following some good work on the left from Alaba. The Pole almost got his hat-trick as he flicked the ball past Schwaab and onto the crossbar following a pass from Costa (85’).

The match ended with Bayern walking away with a hard fought and deserved victory.

Reporter from Timişoara, Romania. Journalist by profession and a skeptic by nature, Vlad has been an adamant Bayern München follower for more than half of his life, ever since he watched the ’99 Champions League Final with his dad. Since then, he has forgiven, but not forgotten, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Bayern ended the season with yet another self-inflicted defeat in a defining game. Eintracht Frankfurt gave the Bavarians a lesson in self-respect and won the DFB-Pokal with a fantastic fighting spirit.